Questions tagged [infectious-diseases]
The infectious-diseases tag has no usage guidance.
89
questions
1
vote
0
answers
49
views
Why is chickenpox more severe in adults?
I've seen in many medical shows and were even told as a kid that chickenpox is quite severe in adults, and that's why it good to catch it and become immune as a child. I've tried researching the ...
- 111
0
votes
0
answers
23
views
Will bleach kill Vesicle-Cloaked Murine Norovirus Clusters?
Referencing the following article. But there is no mention of bleach specifically so I am wondering if simply cleaning the surface with bleach would do the trick? Or the article is also refering to ...
- 297
3
votes
0
answers
16
views
Physiologic basis behind increased survival with double coverage for community acquired pneumonia
Double coverage (generally cephalosporin + macrolide) is currently the recommended treatment for patients hospitalised with community acquired pneumonia (CAP) [1]. This seems mainly to be due to ...
- 169
23
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Why is the rate of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus disease booming?
The wikipedia entry on polio vaccines has the 1st graph below, showing that the rate of vaccine derived polio has increased massively over the last few years, with the rate of 1089 cases in 2020 ...
- 488
2
votes
0
answers
40
views
How do the viral loads of vaccinated and unvaccinated asymptomatic, and symptomatic individuals differ for COVID-19?
I'm searching for information regarding the above question, but I seem to keep finding conflicting information. Some articles say that asymptomatic people have higher viral loads than symptomatic ...
- 121
2
votes
2
answers
59
views
How is "absolute risk of death" from covid (or something else) usually defined for infectious diseases?
There's been some discussion on Twitter regarding whether a BBC article is misleading or not. The article says:
Researchers estimate that 25 deaths in a population of some 12 million children in ...
- 5,968
1
vote
1
answer
66
views
Does infectious hemophilia exist?
Coagulopathies or bleeding disorders, like hemophilia, and Von Willebrand's syndrome, are diseases in which the blood's ability to coagulate is impaired.
But, is there an infectious disease that can ...
0
votes
0
answers
66
views
(How) does taking all available vaccines contribute to cross- and trained immunity?
Many countries have national vaccination campaigns that consists of vaccines against several different diseases. I expect that the choice of vaccines that are included in such programs is mainly ...
- 1,017
3
votes
1
answer
76
views
Monotherapy of multiple drugs or combination therapy - Beginner 101
Let's say that patient A is taking drugs like as shown below
|---atenolol-----esmolol----nebivolol---------------------|
|---s------e-----s-----e----s-------e---------------------|
here s and e ...
- 299
1
vote
0
answers
27
views
Why does my volunteering with kids mean I should get a tetanus shot?
I volunteer with kids a decent amount. A little while ago my doctor recommended that I get the tetanus shot specifically due to the fact that I spend so much time around small children.
At the time I ...
- 1,027
2
votes
0
answers
38
views
By what mechanism did Sweden have a second wave of COVID-19?
I have often heard the theory that the waves in, for example, the UK, were caused by a harsh lockdown, followed by a release that kicked off the second wave. To my knowledge, Sweden did not relax its ...
- 121
0
votes
1
answer
47
views
Is there any infection that targets/found in specifically the nape of the neck?
Is there any infection(s) of the nape caused by a foreign body (bacterial, viral, fungal, etc)? I mean a foreign body infection found or originating primarily or solely in the nape.
I know some ENT ...
- 109
1
vote
1
answer
63
views
New Covid December 2020 mutation in UK and its consequences [closed]
The new Covid December 2020 mutation in UK is believed to be 70% more contagious than the original version. Could one reason be that Airborne transmission by normal breathing is now a dominant form of ...
- 159
2
votes
0
answers
32
views
Is it possible to increase viral load and COVID-19 disease severity through subsequent infectious doses? [closed]
There is potentially a causal chain leading from high initial infectious dose to high viral load to high disease severity for COVID-19. See, for example, evidence surveyed here.
However, once someone ...
- 21
1
vote
1
answer
47
views
What happened to Solidarity?
Solidarity is a large clinical trial of treatment candidates for COVID–19, organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The relevant page on the WHO website—last updated on July 6, 2020—says:
The ...
- 151
5
votes
1
answer
103
views
Is there a standard projection (or ensemble of proyections) about whether a second wave of COVID-19 will occur?
Several countries and states are leaving or have partially left the lockdown and, with constraints, are recovering economical activity after getting hit by the covid-19 crisis.
WHO has warned that ...
- 151
2
votes
1
answer
65
views
Is the SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 the only known virus that enters the cells via the ACE2 receptors?
I am just curious if the virus is unique in the sense that it enters the ACE2 receptors in the human body and kills the cell. This receptor is located over the entire body.
Is this the only virus ...
- 297
0
votes
1
answer
36
views
Social Distancing Groups at Beaches and similar large venues [closed]
Government agencies (for this conversation, assume USA) have provided guidance to prevent COVID-19 transmission. As it is a holiday, many lockdown weary have flocked to the beaches and similar venues....
- 817
2
votes
1
answer
56
views
Is it helpful for the average citizen (non medical professionals) to wear gloves and disinfect them instead of disinfecting the bare hands?
In the last months I have seen lots of articles about wearing masks and gloves to prevent the infecting yourself or others. In the case of the masks this is quite clear that we should wear them, but ...
- 231
3
votes
1
answer
39
views
Have there been any studies on how long COVID-19 remains infectious on various types of cloth?
I was thinking common items like wool and cotton clothing. Has any one discovered yet how long COVID-19 remains infectious on clothing? I have seen the usual items such as paper boxs, stainless ...
- 297
6
votes
1
answer
191
views
Why are antibodies not used as treatments for infectious diseases?
It seems like human monoclonal antibodies would be the ideal treatment for any serious infectious disease.
Unlike vaccines, they don't depend on having the immune system recognize the right epitope, ...
- 64
2
votes
3
answers
451
views
What is the minimal infectious dose (MID) of SARS-CoV-2?
Assuming the immune system is healthy,
How much SARS-CoV-2 virus (cause of COVID-19) is required to make a person sick?
This might also depend on time, if it was a high infectious dose but just some ...
- 566
4
votes
1
answer
47
views
What receptors are targeted by the seasonal coronaviruses that primarily present as winter colds?
We know that SARS-CoV-2 appears to mainly attack animal cells by the ACE2 receptor, MERS-CoV by the DPP-4 receptor, and SARS-CoV also by the ACE2 receptor.
Do we know what receptors are targeted by ...
- 13.2k
2
votes
1
answer
57
views
Are there viruses which can spread from humans to animals, but cannot spread from animals to humans? [closed]
It had already been proven that felines can be infected with COVID-19 from exposure to infected humans. However authorities are currently saying that there isn't evidence of the opposite happening - ...
- 1,496
2
votes
0
answers
52
views
Can having other coronaviruses like HCoV-OC43 give positive results when testing for SARS-CoV-2? [closed]
Is it possible that a person having coronaviruses other than SARS-CoV-2 test positive for SARS-CoV-2 in rapid (antibody testing kits) as well as RT PCR tests? Searching around the internet didn't ...
- 29
3
votes
2
answers
123
views
Does wearing gloves help against being infected with COVID-19?
Walking around town I see quite a few people wearing gloves in addition to a mask. But is this actually useful? COVID-19 does not transmit via the skin, so you don't need to protect your hands per se. ...
- 1,496
1
vote
1
answer
105
views
What is the distance the COVID-19 virus can travel in the air out of doors and remain infectious for someone breathing the same air?
I edited my question after doing some research. I also edited the question to include phrase "out of door". When indoors the risk is increased considerable with stale air or air that has ...
- 297
1
vote
1
answer
78
views
What does it mean when someone has Coronavirus antibodies?
I'm a bit confused reading articles like this:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/23/nyregion/coronavirus-antibodies-test-ny.html
One of every five New York City residents tested positive for antibodies ...
- 121
2
votes
1
answer
57
views
How is COVID-19 transmission tracked with any accuracy?
I saw this article: New study finds few cases of outdoor transmission of coronavirus in China (and study it is based on). I don't have a science or medical background so maybe this is obvious but how ...
- 129
4
votes
1
answer
165
views
Will everyone get the COVID-19?
There is a Ben Shapiro tweet that says:
For a variety of reasons, many Americans seem to think that
"flattening the curve" means that fewer Americans will get covid-19
total. This is inaccurate....
- 149
14
votes
2
answers
5k
views
A cheap and easy inactivated vaccine for COVID-19
Suppose a person with COVID-19 coughs into a bag. Let the bag sit in the sun for, say, 72 hours -- so as to make the virus inactive.
Could a healthy person breathe in the inactivated virus from the ...
- 397
3
votes
3
answers
84
views
Is it possible for humans to be resistant to certain viral infections without having specific antibodies in their blood?
Popular understanding of how viruses work split immunity into four categories:
Virus doesn't affect humans at all
No immunity - will get worst possible infection, seems to be the case with COVID-19
...
- 1,496
1
vote
0
answers
55
views
What are the epidemiological basis (bases) of ceasing containment measures once an outbreak becomes an epidemic/pandemic?
A previous question on SE has asked about whether testing, a part of the strategy of containment, can help reduce transmission enough such that it reduces the need for aspects of mitigation (Could ...
14
votes
3
answers
5k
views
If a SARS-CoV-2 asymptomatic infected individual is exposed to a high viral load, could they develop COVID-19 disease?
I would add my own research if I could to respect site rules, but I can't. There are no studies on SARS-CoV-2, all I can find is for SARS-CoV-1 and some Chinese information based studies.
My ...
user19086
1
vote
1
answer
108
views
If someone catches COVID-19 in a country where the number of deaths and new infections are slowing, would their symptoms be milder?
If someone happens to catch COVID-19 when we're on the other side of the curves -- when deaths and new infections are slowing -- would their symptoms somehow be less severe?
A milder fever? A ...
- 11
3
votes
0
answers
72
views
What clinical presentations are you seeing in Covid-19?
Many of us have yet to see a case. What is your personal experience?
2
votes
2
answers
127
views
Is it possible to get Covid-19 and have 0 symptoms along the complete journey and hence cure by yourself without knowing?
In this link, in the section How long is it between when a person is exposed to the virus and when they start showing symptoms? mentions
Recently published research found that on average, the time ...
- 566
0
votes
0
answers
27
views
Is it less likely to get infected by a second virus while fighting first?
By and large, when a person gets ill with eg. flu, it is sort of assumed at least by many people with no medical background in my vicinity, that the person won't get infected by another virus meantime....
- 133
7
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Does bleach have to be diluted to be more effective to kill virus?
This page Bleach claims
Bleach is more effective at killing germs when diluted than when used
straight out of the bottle.
this other page (Spanish) Alcohol and Bleach are more effective against ...
- 1,075
1
vote
2
answers
266
views
COVID-19, disinfecting bike-share bikes (or rental bikes), and safely using them
I don't own a working bike, but I do have a bike-sharing system membership. My city's bike-sharing system has many stations. I can borrow a bike and ride it to any other station.
There's currently ...
1
vote
2
answers
129
views
Why recovered patients develop lung disease due Covid-19?
In this link
https://www.dw.com/en/covid-19-recovered-patients-have-partially-reduced-lung-function/a-52859671
we can see
Now researchers in Hong Kong have said that recovered coronavirus patients ...
- 566
3
votes
1
answer
74
views
What fraction health care workers contract COVID-19?
What fraction of health care workers contract COVID-19? Does anyone know of empirical evidence? Ideally, I’m looking for a reference to a study involving type of work, e.g., ER in close contact vs. ...
- 211
0
votes
1
answer
59
views
Could a drug used to treat patients of a infectious disease be used preventively in possible asymptomatic patients?
According to Japanese flu drug reportedly shows promise against coronavirus in clinical trials
A Japanese drug used to treat new strains of the flu has shown promise
in being effective against ...
- 1,075
13
votes
1
answer
275
views
Is a nightly curfew an effective intervention strategy for limiting the spread of an infectious disease?
The governing bodies of several geographic areas hit by disease outbreaks will sometimes impose a nightly curfew on their citizens, restricting or limiting the ability of their citizens from going ...
- 180
0
votes
0
answers
29
views
Pandemic: what is the term for the phenomenon of diffusion of tests and the spreading of the virus itself?
Context: from the "discovery" of the virus to its spreading
Before the discovery of sars-2 people died from sars-1, flu or pneumonia.
On the one hand, we have a new, previously unknown virus that is ...
- 355
1
vote
2
answers
1k
views
Can the Coronavirus be spread via public toilet seats?
I would like to know if it has been proven or disproven that the Coronavirus/COVID-19 can be spread via public toilet seats?
I am thinking that perhaps I should always carry around hand sanitizer ...
user17774
1
vote
0
answers
35
views
Will taking antihistamines increase someone's risk of getting ill? [closed]
If people take antihistamines, I suppose their immune system becomes suppressed (it needs histamines to work properly). If their immune system becomes suppressed, their body will react suboptimal to ...
- 11
3
votes
1
answer
322
views
Can coronaviruses be transmitted via banknotes?
When possible I avoid paying by cash and use contactless payments as much as I can, especially as of late. However, some outlets won't take card payments so cash exchange is inevitable.
I am worried ...
- 163
4
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Are motorcycle helmets effective in preventing Corona?
Can a full-head helmet with the visor closed prevent getting infected by the Corona virus during a casual interaction with a carrier?
For example, when buying something at a store or discussing ...
- 143
35
votes
5
answers
14k
views
Does COVID-19 have a case fatality rate of 41%? Is this formula correct?
According to the data on the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Tracker, as of 3rd February 2020 there were 17491 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally, 536 total recoveries and 362 deaths.
From my non-expert ...
- 532